Wednesday, May 18, 2005

The PBGs haven't been as active in my life until recently but, as you can imagine, they don't always operate near the surface. I had a strong experience this past weekend that I am preparing to post for your reading pleasure.

Time is short right now but I have some notes in my draft pages and I will post as soon as I can.

I had had a very stress filled weekend. I probably got about 20 hrs of sleep over the previous four days.

Now it was Monday morning and I was on my way to work. My mind was fuzzy on the outside and fizzy on the inside. I had a lot to mull over. It is not surprising then, that I had already missed one turn-off and needed to do a quick double lane change, nearly missing a second one.

And my thoughts turned to the PBGs. They haven't been in the foreground of my mind lately, but in times of emotional stress they like to visit. I rarely pick up a pop can while running anymore. Many of the symbols the PBGs and I used a year ago have now been forgotten.

But I guess they have been busy replacing my pseudo-mumbo-jumbo with more conventional lingo. While driving, I spotted the symbol of the fish. My wife told me all about this ancient symbol of the Christian faith. And just in case I didn't get it, the owner of this particular Honda Prelude included the letters J E S U S in the middle of the fish to make it clear.

Here, I thought, is a clear sign. Of what, I am not sure, but a clear sign. I almost put it out of my head right away. "Nah, God never communicates that clearly to me." I remember thinking of the scene in Jim Carrie's movie "Bruce Almighty" when he says to God, "Give me a sign". God sends him a whole truck load of street signs. Bruce ignores this and several other obvious signs and winds up crashing into a tree.

So I payed a little more attention do my driving. Good thing too because as I was nearing work the car directly in front of me slammed into a van in the turning lane ahead of him.

Big bang, broken windshield, airbags deployed, car totaled. I pulled over and, like in a dream, got out of my car to help. A second witness was already on the scene. He knew first aid and immediately took charge. He showed me how to immobilize the car driver's head while he checked him over.

So I guess the PBGs have given me a new symbol. I think this symbol means, "Wake up! Life is too short to walk (or drive) around in a fog!" In other words, the fish symbol is very much a Prelude to Grace.